Vibroblades....WTF?

[Jivebot]

Vibroblades....cool look, but the low damage of Katanas, and the low Crit of those Azzie blades. Comedically inferior weapons all around. Except I always assumed that they did Tech damage...just like the Vibroblades enemy spawns use. Their Vibroblades do Tech Damage.

I built my Blade/Spellcaster character thinking i'd give him a Vibroblade when they finally unlocked, and he'd deal ranged magic damage and melee tech damage, and never ever have to sweat Phys Arrmor. Good plan, no? It might be a tad risky, seeing as he's a squishy little keebler who really shouldn't be in melee range but a magic character needs a way around magic-immune enemies and no other skill fit his character concept. And I liked the idea of playing a "modern" Sword Mage.

Imagine my soul-shattering surprise when for the first time I go smack an enemy with my spiffy new Vibroblade and it barely punctures his Phys Armor.

W.
T.
F!

So I straight up have to ask the Devs....just what was the thought process that went into Vibroblades? Are they just there to punish players who like style over substance? Or is this a bug, and they are intended to do Tech Damage?

[Sister Miriam Godwinson]

I assume it was a nerf pass and either they just didn't notice, or nobody pointed out that the vibroblade is just straight up worse than the other bladed weapons.

Someone should really look at it and fix it, or at least give them the same stats so its just a cosmetic choice.

[76561198240086880]

I will take a look at them and check this out. Is this only a case in the beta channel or was it already there?

But thank you for the idea with the tech damage. Maybe I can do something with that.

[Jivebot]

Happy to offer a good suggestion. I'm just a bit surprised it's not already implimented since Enemy Vibroblades already do Tech Damage. I just figured that must be why they have both the low damage of katanas and the low crit chance of those Azzie Swords. Because they bypass phys armor, so they're a bit nerfed for balance.

As for your question, I don't know what "the beta channel" is. I was just playing the game like always. Finally decided to take a Vibroblade into a mission with me, and was surprised to learn that unlike enemy Vibroblades, our Vibroblades are just normal Phys Damage weapons, with the worst possible stats for a sword. So if Beta Channel is what we're automatically logged into when we log in to play, then yes.

[76561198240086880]

Ok thank you for the information.
The beta channel is the server where the guys go to test the next update. I thought you were one of them.
I concur that the damage values seem a bit odd for vibroblades.
I will take a look at that

For your suggestion: I really like it but unfortunately it seems as if that is sadly not possible with our current system but I will keep digging.

[Jivebot]

Well to be fair in a way it's more YOUR suggestion than mine. The only reason I assumed PC Vibroblades do tech damage is because NPC Vibroblades do Tech Damage. I would think you could just transfer that ability from the NPC Weapons to PC Weapons, but you're the programmer not me. If it can't be done i'll take you at your word.

Maybe Vibroblades can me made more of a "Middle ground" option. Less Crit than Katana but more than those Aztech blades. Less raw damage than the Azzie blades but more than a Katana.

[76561198240086880]

I am touched that you think I am a programmer. :)
No I am more of a QA and game design guy at the moment.

I am able to tell that there will be some interesting new things coming in regards to weapons in the future.

[Jivebot]

Haven't played much recently. Were vibroblades ever made viable?

[aris.indulens]

Hey, check out all the new stuff that can drop with very low probability or can be bought at shops
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=647050694

With human/crit background/new prototype cyberware, vorpal vibroblade is a 19-26 100% crit 150% crit bonus, probably one-shots most basic enemies. I'd say the power creep has slightly spiraled out of control lately.

[NetherWulf]

So the balance to vibro blades is that they have a higher crit chance and crit damage than the other melee weapons but lower damage correct?

[Jivebot]

Originally posted by Nether:

So the balance to vibro blades is that they have a higher crit chance and crit damage than the other melee weapons but lower damage correct?

That was the balance for Katanas. So what do Katanas do now?

[OrangeMan]

Vibroblades are my weapon of choice. I would rather they not be changed. If you make them Tech Damage you will only make me more powerful and then people will complain that blades are unbalanced, etc.

[Luke]

I like the idea of tech damage, but that wouldn't work as it would make dogs and spirits immune to them.

Some sort of core mechanic change would likely be required to support that, which would be non-trivial compared to a stat-rebalance.

Honestly though, I prefer them as they are now over the other types of blades -- bearing in mind that I do not have access to black market tier. Since opinions seem to differ, that suggests that they are decently balanced as-is.

[Jivebot]

So you bring another weapon for dogs and spirits. The whole idea is to give you more flexibility and versatility in creating a build that fits you and your playstyle. Melee players should have an option for bypassing armor too.

[snakefistahfu]

Is it possible to have damage partially delivering tech or magic damage, and rest physical? For example, 5 dmg is tech on Vibroblade, rest is physical? Macuahuitl would qualify for the same principle with Magic damage, because currently this weapon has no distinctive advantages. Perhaps applying only at high tier weapons.

This would be a trade-off, since critical tech damage could kill damaged (say, by Decker) opponent, with physical armour remaining OR waste tech damage to remove some of tech armour, perhaps wasting part of attack.

I also mourn - but still use, occasionally - lovely Katanas (Blue mostly, sometimes evil Sith Red) and would like to have them - more than all of them Cleavers, though there is no reason not to have them both.